The Ring
by LinaBeal
Summary: Jo just threw a ring at him.  Who knows what that was about.  It certainly isn't Zane- he's more in the dark than we are. Jo/Zane Brings ties from Jo/Zane past into it.
1. Chapter 1

So this is something that's been rocking around my head since the hallucination episode. I've got another chapter that plays on the mid-season finale.

* * *

My grandmother's ring. That was the final straw. Well, if I say the final straw that sounds like I'm going to go ballistic on her, but this just made me curious. Ever since Founder's Day, Jo Lupo had been different.

Not a bad different, like I loved getting my butt whipped verbally everyday by Jo Lupo, but a _different_, different. If that makes any sense. She was softer, crazier. I would sometimes catch her looking at me with this wistful stare, as if she was on nostalgia pills or something.

Not that there was anything she could be nostalgic about with me, unless she was still the hard-ass she'd always been. But she was different. She kept me from getting shipped off to prison, and would randomly check up on me. Not that I liked being watched- I felt like an eleven-year-old who'd recently exchanged his sister's shampoo for tar, or something. Like I'd go the next step of criminal advancement and stab someone.

But I behaved myself. I don't know why I did- it's not like I'd ever changed before, or if I had anything to change for. I did as I was told, and followed all the rules. A first for me, right?

But something had changed. She and Fargo were suddenly close, like they had been buddies all their lives. Any day BFD (before Founder's Day), they would go out of their way to avoid each other. And Allison and Carter? They were all romantical (no, it's not a word… just because I'm a physicist doesn't mean I don't make up words). They sat around at Café Diem with coffee, laughing and chatting. That NEVER used to happen!

In general, Founder's Day screwed up a lot of things. And I was nuts if I wasn't going to figure out why.

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Thanks to everyone who reads... even more to all who review. This has been the worst plot twist of any Eureka Season yet, and I am so glad its on the mend.

Read and Review, Please!


	2. Chapter 2

This is the second chapter, placed in the last bit of Jo/Zane we see in the mid-season finale.

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**ZANE POV**

They separated.

"See, that didn't feel like a first kiss to me, Jojo," Zane commented. To be honest, he was only attempting to figure out this himself. Jo Lupo was his? Or not. Or maybe. Or in the future. Just because he was a particle physicist and a GD-grade hacker didn't mean he knew everything. _To be honest, sometimes I feel like I know even less than the average person_.

He was going to ask her all the questions he wanted to. And she looked like she might actually answer them this time. Then Zoë came.

"Zane! You're okay!" Zoë exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. "I heard they dropped the charges! This is great. Do you want to go out to celebrate at Café Diem, or something?"

This feeling used to be so good- _in the arms of a pretty blonde who was oh so into me_, Zane thought. Now this just feels awkward. _I mean, it would be awkward anyway with Zoë, but with Jo it just multiplies the awkwardness_. And before he could really think, he made a decision.

"Um, Zoë, could I talk to you for a second?" She turned her bright eyes at me. "Um, alone?"

"Sure, Dr. Donavan," she said faux-seductively. _That used to be cute. But now all I feel is that one kiss- the one that felt like number one hundred instead of one_.

"Well, Zoë…" he said, leading her over to a corner of the sheriff's office.

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**JO POV**

Jo was scared. She didn't know whether to tell him the truth or not. She didn't know if that kiss made him remember- she wasn't the smart one, she didn't know how this kind of stuff worked. But she did know it was good to kiss Zane again.

Zane was leading Zoë over to a corner, and he was talking to her in hushed tones. Jo didn't know if he was breaking up with her or telling her how insane Jo was. Jo just had to hope it would end well, because at the moment, all the horrible things that had happened to her since her travel back seemed to be on hold.

Suddenly Zoë turned away from Zane and ran from the Sheriff's Office, hands over her face.

_Not good_, Jo thought.

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**ZANE POV**

Zane couldn't believe he did it. He couldn't even believe that he hadn't done it before now. _To quote some dead Baptist priest, I feel a great weight lift from my shoulders, and I see the light. Well, not the light so much, but I do feel light- almost invisible. Like I could do anything_. That brought him back to the problem at hand. _Hopefully this won't be as hard as it seems like it will be_.

"Hey, Jojo," he said to Jo.

"What did you say to her?" Jo demanded. _Well, no matter what she is now, there is no doubt that there is some traits that carry over from Old Jo_.

"I told her that she and I couldn't date anymore," Zane spit out.

"And why's that, Captain Convict?"

"Ooh! That's a good superhero name for my Fantasy Justice League. S.A.R.A.H. and I are creating one together," Deputy Andy said, popping into the conversation.

"Um, Andy, would you give us a minute? Go get your oil changed or something," Jo said irritably. Andy scampered out- well, not exactly scampered, as much of a scamper as a robotic deputy can muster. _Who wouldn't scamper from Jo?_ Zane thought. _She's nuts. And I used to hate that. But now… I guess it's growing on me._

"Jo? What are we?" Zane asked, scared of the answer.

"I think we're going to need to discuss this over some food. Maybe your favorites?" Jo asked, and Zane internally scoffed. Now was the real test. If he had meant anything to Jo at some point, she would know his favorite foods. Food was the fourth most defining characteristic of his, right after his smarts, bending the rules capability, and his devil-may-care attitude.

"And what are my favorites, Jojo?" Zane asked, putting his hand at her waist. She didn't even move to remove it. _So I've obviously done this a lot_.

"Olives stuffed with blue cheese, a toasted peanut butter and bacon sandwich, egg salad, and rocky road ice cream." _Jeez. I've slept with this girl. No one knows my obsession with peanut butter and bacon sandwiches except my mother_. He thought about that for a second. _I really loved her. I must have_.

His shock must have played on his face because Jo smiled. _She really did too_.

"You didn't think I would know, did you?"

"I had my doubts," Zane said truthfully.

"What does that prove- that I know your favorite foods?" Jo asked, her arm unconsciously creeping around his waist. She might not have noticed, but Zane certainly did.

"It means that whatever happened to you and me, whatever you _say_ happened, whether it was an alternate dimension or the future, That Zane loved you a lot- he gave you his -my- grandmother's ring, and you knew his favorite foods. And he's kissed you passionately and you've fought. And you've slept in each other's arms and you've hurled a lamp at him." Zane didn't know where all of this was coming from: he didn't know what she was talking about wit this "alternate Zane", but weirdly, he did.

He didn't have actual memories- just feelings. And glimpses into what they had been.

"Keep this, will you? That Zane loved you enough, and I feel like I'm on the way to it. You should have it." He pressed the ring- the one he supposedly gave her- into her palm.

And he felt it- the overwhelming desire to kiss her- something he'd never felt for Lupo before Founder's Day.

Maybe he didn't have the full story yet. But he was damned if he wasn't going to let Jo be happy. If that meant he would eventually fall for this hard-ass, then so be it. It was just a vibe he had.

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I hope you liked it. The idea of the two time lines welding together is something I hope they will do in later episodes.

Thanks! READ AND REVIEW! 3


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